Communication

Overview

The Communication module provides a means to send outbound email and SMS messages to various types of recipients within an event.

The register is called Communications and the main record is a Communication. Each Communication can be configured as desired to support the message(s) that you need to send.

Communications range from a simple, one-off email to a single recipient, to a multi-channel, ‘campaign’ style message to hundreds of recipients.

Communications supports sending messages to contact records from several supported modules, registers and items. Some also also support sending Communications directly from the register using the Send Communication Bulk Action.

Communications workflow functions similar to email messaging with drafts and an outbox. Additionally, Communications can be automatically generated as a part of a module's workflow. For example, the Permits module supports sending a Communication email message to approved applicants as part of its workflow.

This register provides the following features:

• Sending only by authorised communications staff

• Send messages (Email, SMS or both)

• Send to known contacts or ad-hoc recipients

• Send to Groups or Positions

• View a Delivery Report including the status of delivery

• Message history in individual Contacts

• Observes individual users communication preferences including and anti-spam policies and opt-out capability

• Override communications preferences in special circumstances

• Supports email attachments

• Scheduled sending

• Supports multi-part messages

• Ask for acknowledgement and quantitative responses from recipients

• Templates can be created for resending similar or regular communications

• Basic email (and SMS) template configurations for branding

While the Communications system is designed using best practices it cannot guarantee delivery of messages due to destination servers or clients blocking them. If a recipient hasn't received a message, it may still end up in their spam/junk folder or get blocked by their ISP. The Delivery Report will help you with some basic troubleshooting on message delivery.

Registers

Message recipients can be drawn from record types containing relevant contact address data. These core item types available currently include (others may be available depending on your system configuration):

Positions

The following table outlines Communications positions and what users with them can do according to their default security policies:

Other positions may have similar security policies. A System Administrator can establish positions with custom security policies.

Note that while some positions can create Communications, only a Communications permission can send them.

Process

Refer to: Workflow

Users create a Communication message as a Draft or send it straight away. They choose Format(s) and Recipients, along with any other important settings. For similar Communications sent more than once, a Template can be pre-configured with settings to save time then use the Create Copy Bulk Action to start a new Communication based on this.

Communications can then be run at any time using the Send Now status and will send to the recipients listed in the Delivery Report. The Delivery Report can also be used to monitor sent communications.

In certain registers, users can use the Send Communication Bulk Action directly from the datagrid (refer to the list of compatible registers). These can be added to a new or existing communication using an existing template.

Once a Communication record’s deliveries have been dispatched successfully, it is moved into the ‘Sent’ workflow state. If none of the deliveries are successful at the time of dispatch, it is moved into the ’Failed’ workflow state and if some are successful and others not, it is moved into the ’Partially Failed’ state.

Following the initial dispatch, the status of individual delivery records is updated as either messaging provider ‘delivery events’ or by user ‘feedback events’. Following the initial dispatch, these status updates to the delivery records don’t affect the status of the parent Communication record.

Communications Reports can be used for statistical analysis across multiple communications.

Access

To access Communications:

• Communications must be enabled for the event, along with Communications positions

• Go on duty with an appropriate role such as Communications Manager. If you can't access it, ask your administrator to check your permissions.

Locate the Communications register under Communications in the menu.

Administration

Administrators set up and maintain the Communications module by:

• Adding the Communications register and Communications positions to the event. Additionally, they can add one or more other registers that support sending Communications via the datagrid or item.

• Giving users the Communications positions to grant them the necessary permissions

• Managing blacklisted, bounced or opted-out addresses

Finding Communications

The register includes a number of features to assist in finding Communications:

• Datagrid view

• Filters including drafts and templates, outbox and tags

• Combination filters and search by most fields

Filters

Filters help make management of Communications easier by focusing on specific groups of items on the datagrid.

Opening and Viewing Communications

When viewing Communications, sections can be expanded to show information.

As each section is completed, new sections may show additional information.

Settings

Communications are divided into the following sections (sections may or may not appear depending on what information is entered, your permissions level, and what mode you're viewing):

Record Notes

When editing, record notes on your changes which will appear in the Activity log.

Refer to: Recording Notes

Topic

This field is used mainly to identify the Communication in the datagrid. It doesn't have to match the subject of the message.

Recipients

This section includes settings for what type of message to send (Email or SMS) and who to send the message to.

Formats

Formats allows you to send your message as either Email, SMS or both.

When you tick the box, an additional 'Message Details' section is opened for the settings for that format.

Recipients

This field records addresses to send the Email and SMS messages. This setting can only be edited before the message is sent. If a message is already sent, you will have to Reopen it before making any changes.

The Recipient is a lookup field, that is, when editing a Communication you'll need to select from a suggestion in the list below to add it.

This field accepts the following main types of recipients:

1. Comms Recipient Address - these match register items in your system and will use the email address or number from that record based on which format is selected. As you type, these will be looked up in the system from all available items (refer to: Registers for the full list). Messages you send to these recipients appear in the message history of the contact record.

1. Comms Inline Recipient - an email or phone number that can be typed directly into the field and selected from the list.

1. Event Positions - adds all users within an events participating position as a live lookup. Only on-duty users will appear in the recipients list.

1. Dynamic Recipients - these are custom message groups you can type the name of directly into the Recipients field. When you add one of these groups into the Recipients field, any group members will appear as recipients in the list. Refer to the list of built-in Dynamic Recipients for common examples. Users add recipients to these lists by adding the name of the Dynamic Recipient to the Classification of an item in a compatible register (such as a Contact). Your administrators can also create new groups using the Dynamic Recipients register

Override Communication preferences

If selected, this option will override a recipient's notification preferences. Even if they have chosen to not receive a message it will send it to them.

Delivery Report

This section shows all recipient addresses for the selected formats that should be eligible to receive your communication.

This list excludes:

• Recipient that have opted out

• Recipients who have set their communication preference to not receive a message

If Override communication preferences is set, then it will show all recipients addresses.

The Delivery Report also shows the status and any response from the recipient. This can be useful for checking if someone has received your communication.

To update the list (for messages that may be in the process of sending or awaiting a response), you can use the Refresh List button.

The Copy IDs button is useful if you need to run a query or report on the results.

For a full explanation of delivery Status, refer to Delivery Reporting.

Email Message Details

This section opens when the Email box is ticked under Formats in the Recipient section.

It functions similarly to an email program in that you will find a Subject, Body and Attachments.

Subject reflects the subject of the email message. This field is required.

Body uses rich text field for adding the main contents of the email message including formatting. This field is also required.

Enable template variables in email body is a basic mail merge function that supports tags from Recipient items to be embedded in the email. You can copy and paste template tags from the Available template tags list using the Copy button . For example, if your recipient is a Comms Recipient Address you can address a person as "Firstname, Lastname" using the {$displayName} tag. Note that for Inline Recipients this will only display their address as the system doesn't know anything else about them.

Attachments uses a file upload field for adding up to 8MB of file attachments to the email message.

Email messages are sent in multi-part format so that they support both text and HTML email programs. The HTML version can be customised with a basic branded template for end users based on the overall site configuration.

SMS Message Details

This section opens when the SMS box is ticked under Formats in the Recipient section.

It functions similarly to an text messaging platform in that you will find a Message field which is sent as a simple text message.

Like the phone that receive them, the system supports a single message containing only standard English characters (ASCII) can be 160 characters long. Once the message exceeds the single message limit, it is split into parts. These parts are sent separately by the network and re-combined by the end user. This doesn't affect the experience of recipients, however it has an impact on your organisation's costs. Additionally, telecommunication infrastructure has a limit of 5 message parts per message.

The message can contain unicode characters such as emojis (🍕), symbols (♹) or non-English or accented characters (á). For these types you will need to copy and paste into the Message field. Note that unicode characters take up more of the single message quota and may cause short messages to be sent in multiple parts.

To help identify long messages, you'll be given a warning with an estimate of the number of message parts needed to send it.

If your message is longer than the size of a single SMS, the message will be split into multiple parts by the telecommunication provider.

Each message part is charged a separate message, even though modern phones recombine them to display the single, long message to the recipient. This behaviour is due to technical limitations with SMS technology itself.

SMS messages generated from this module can contain more characters than your main message entered into the message box, based on other options you select.

• By selecting a priority other than “normal”, a unicode symbol is prefixed to the message

• By selecting an acknowledgement, additional text is added to instruct the user how to acknowledge, and a short link is also added into the message.

• A footer text can be configured based on your site to sign off each message, e.g. “Sent from Your Organisation”

SMSs are billed per message part. Refer to your subscription plan for your cost per SMS.

This means the total billing for an SMS Communication is:

cost = [cost per SMS] x [number of message parts] x [number of recipients]

Example: at 8.5c per SMS with 35 recipients and 3 message parts, the total cost will be $0.085 x 35 x 3 = $78.93

Sending

The Sending section outlines the rules for the Communication including:

• What stage the Communication is in and when to send it

• The Priority of the message

• Any accepted responses including acknowledgements

Status

Status is used to indicate the current workflow stage of the Communication.

Time to Send

This field is used to schedule Communications and is only available when the status of Send Later is used.

Use the date/time selector to schedule the Communication.

The system will send the communication automatically when the Time to send is reached. Scheduling is based on local time where possible.

Priority

This field records the priority of the Communication. All Communications are set to Normal by default. Use this to inform recipients of the importance of the message.

Email subject lines and SMS messages are prepended with the symbol depicted next to the priority option.

For email deliveries, the dispatched email is also assigned a priority ‘header’ matching the priority specified, however it should be noted that many email clients no longer honour this header. Note that this will use up some of the allocated characters for an SMS message part.

Options

This section is used primarily to control how recipients can provide feedback.

Include opt-out includes a link for recipients to opt-out of receiving future messages at a specific address.

If a recipient selects an opt-out link in a message they have received, the address associated with that message is added to a global opt-out suppression list. Recipients who opt-out will be highlighted on the Delivery Report with a ‘struck out’ red style along with a Delivery status of Opted Out, and future messages won’t be delivered to the address.

Ask recipients to acknowledge the message activates one of two options. By itself, it will include a ‘Click to Acknowledge’ link for recipients to flag that the message has been received and understood. Recipients who acknowledge the message by clicking the link will appear with a status of Acknowledged in the Delivery Report.

Ask recipients to respond to one or a pair of options is a second option available for acknowledgement. In this case recipients are offered a pair of options to select from. These are set in the Response Option 1 Value and Response Option 2 Value fields. If a single response (such as Available) is required, you can fill in just option 1. However if you want to offer two options (such as Available or Unavailable) then set both. The Delivery Report will display the in the Response column.

Classification

Refer to: Editing Items: Classification

This section is used to record the Event, Region and any tags you wish to use.

Tags are useful to recall specific communications.

Administrative

Save this item as a template

This setting can be used to create a template with presets which can be copied and re-used.

For example you may send a monthly newsletter that has similar sections/content and send to the same distribution list. A template can help with this.

Message Delivery Progress

Use this link to run the Communications Message Delivery Report just for this Communication.

Activity

Refer to: Viewing and Opening Register Items: Activity

Updating Communications

Communications are updateable when they are in the status of Save as Draft or Send Later. Once they are Sent they can only be updated if the status is set to Reopen.

When updating Communications:

• Add notes on your edits in the Record Notes field

• Complete each section of the Settings as required. Note that some options may open up new sections to complete.

  • You can add or change the formats, adding Email or SMS, however you must complete the respective sections (Email Message Details and SMS Message Details) if you do.

  • Add or remove Recipients as required. You may need to Refresh the Delivery Report list when doing so.

  • Change the Status to reflect the current Sending stage. When you're ready to send, set it to Send Now or Send Later (note that once set to Sent you won't be able to edit unless you set the status to Reopen)

  • Set the Priority if the importance of the message changes and Options if you require an acknowledgement

  • If you want to use this Communication again, consider creating a Template from it before sending and Create a Copy and sending that instead

Adding Communications

These are the main ways to add a Communication:

1. From the Communications register

2. From another register

3. From a Template

From the Communications Register

1. From the register, in the New item menu select the New Communication button (or drop down the list from any other register and select it)

2. Complete each section of the Settings as required, in particular:

   1. Add a Topic

   2. Select one or both Formats (Email or SMS)

   3. Select one or more Recipients

   4. To send now, set the Sending Status to Send Now. To send later set the status to either Save as Draft or Send Later.

   5. Set a Priority and any Response Options

3. Save

From another Register

You can create communications from another register using the the Send Communication Bulk Action.

Refer to the compatible registers list.

From a Template

To add from a Template using existing settings, first you will need to have created a template from an existing Communication using the Save this item as a template setting in the Administrative section.

1. Find the existing template you want to add from. You can find existing templates more easily using the DRAFTS > Templates filter.

2. In the Bulk Actions, select Create a Copy. This will create a new Draft Communication with the same settings as the template.

3. Open and edit the copied item. You can find th using the DRAFTS > Drafts filter.

4. Complete the Settings and Save

Sending Communications

To send a Communication:

1. Find and Open the Communication

2. Ensure that the Settings are completed correctly

3. Set the Sending Status to Send Now. To send later set the status to either Save as Draft or Send Later.

4. Save

Bulk Actions

The following additional bulk actions can be performed via the Actions menu:

Reports

Reports available for Communications include:

• Communication Message Deliveries (also available as a Bulk Action)

• Communication Message Statistics

• Communication Message SMS Billing